In a radio address on July 20, Khomeini endorsed a cease-fire with Iraq. “Happy are those who have departed through martyrdom. Happy are those who have lost their lives in this convoy of light. Unhappy am I that I still survive and have drunk the poisoned chalice.” The deadly debacle in Mecca and Khomeini’s repeated failure to rally the Muslim world to internationalize Islam’s holy cities were still weighing on him. The ayatollah needed another tool to revive revolutionary fervor.
